Second chance
by pythian files
Summary: After Switzerland, Will wakes up at the same day of the accident and realizes he has a second chance.
1. Chapter 1

People say that when you are about to die, you see your life flash before your eyes, it wasn't my case, as I waited for the drugs's effect I stared at Clark and instead saw what it could have been. She walking down the aisle with a colorful dress, a beautiful baby with her beautiful blue eyes, her face getting more and more wrinkles.

Even from the start I knew how utterly pointless it was to try to change my mind and I didn't regret my decision. I couldn't live like this and I couldn't be someone else's anchor either, but it all seemed a bit bittersweet in the end.

Finally, the profoundest slumber took over, I felt heavy and light at the same time, freer than I have ever been, I looked around the room, frantically searching for my loved ones's faces, taking every detail, every wrinkle, every spot, I felt Clark's hands holding mine and closed my eyes and at last I was in peace.

…...

I woke up with a blond woman beside me, it took me a moment to realize it was Alicia. She turned to me and gave me a lazy smile.

"Good morning" She said, reaching in for a kiss.

I backed out and looked around, I realized I was in my apartment in London.

I moved my legs, pinched myself and the little stab of pain brought me more joy than I ever felt, I got up and looked at myself in the mirror. I could hear Alicia asking me what was wrong, but I was too absorbed to bother to answer her. I went to the bathroom, splashed water in my face and felt more awake. That wasn't a dream, I was sure of it, Lou wasn't a dream, she was as real as the cold porcelain sink felt in my hands, if I closed my eyes I could still see her.

I was going to ask Alicia what day it was, but deep inside of me I already knew, it was the day of my accident. Somehow I'd won a second chance.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I got out of the room of the room and found Alicia still in bed, pouting. I wondered how I didn't find that annoying before, I looked around the elegantly furnished room, it felt colder than I remembered.

"Didn't you hear me talking to you? Your blackberry is going crazy" She handed me my phone.

I put on the first suit I found and then read the messages. "Can you come have dinner with me? We need to talk." I said already getting to the door and closing it before she could answer.

I hurried outside and stood in the rain waiting, looked around seeing all those suited people standing, waiting for a cab checking their blackberries and clocks vigorously. I'd had so many nightmares about this exact moment, the grey skies and the roads slick with water. I was already soaking, when I saw the cab. And a few seconds later a motorcycle rushing in behind, I stared at it until it turned the corner and that was it, no thunder, no explosion, just the normal traffic noise, life went on. I started laughing, the people around me probably thinking I was a mad, a man soaking wet standing in the rain, laughing. The rest of the world oblivious to the importance of that moment.

I answered my phone, and told Rupert I was on my way.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"To be honest, I simply don't know if you'll understand the nature of our company, we are a tech company while you may be too traditional for us." I was standing in my office in a dry clean-cut suit my secretary picked up for me. She and Rupert were standing in front of me, their eyes set in Jeff and me as if watching a tennis match.

"Jeff, since you're being honest with me, I'll be honest with you. You have a good product, but no experience. I have no doubt people will invest in your company, but will the trust you? Soon you may find yourself in the sidelines, in the backstage, like many entrepreneurs before you. But having a 'traditional' company backing you up, might be exactly what you need."

"I think I'll need more time." Jeff looked unsure for the first time since he got in, I looked at Rupert and he nodded, time to close the deal.

"We gave you time, Jeff. It is simple, you know the product, but we know the market. Sign it."

Less than an hour later and all the papers were in my desk signed, a few of my colleagues came up to me to congratulate me.

"We need to celebrate this." Rupert said, tapping me at my back.

I still love my job, But this type of celebrations seemed cold to me now, maybe because It was the same people who couldn't bother to pick up the phone to call me when I was in a wheelchair.

"I'll be busy," I said without looking back, I turned to Christine, my secretary "I'll meet you at the pub."

Life is funny sometimes, the people you expect to care turn your back you, and then the people you least expect to care, surprise you. Christine had been my secretary for less than 4 months, but she made sure to be always there for my family and me after the accident. She helped me find a good nurse, doctors; even visited and called from time to time to see how I was doing, which I was lot more than most of my friends did. So I met her and a few others who had been there for me, so I could thank them, even if it was just in thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

At the weekend, I went skydiving, it wasn't my first time, and it was one of the things I'd missed the most. Ironically, there was something very peaceful about jumping out of an airplane. It is terrifying and euphoric, you are freefalling spinning upwards and backwards and the earth moving closer and closer, you can barely breathe, and the force of the wind is pushing up at you. But with all this is still serene, just you and the sky. It's the most intense and amazing feelings one could ever feel. My phone interrupted my daydreaming, I checked the screen before answering it, Georgina.

"Hello, my dear sister."

"You broke up with Alicia."

"Yes…"

"Oh, good, I hated her. What's this about visiting Granta house? You've always hated there." The plane was ready and the pilot was signaling for us to get in.

"Look, I'm in the middle of something here, just be there I want to see you. Call it nostalgia. I have to go" I hung up and went in.

John, a friend of mine, got closer.

"Was your sister asking about your breakup with Alicia, _the One, the love of your life_?" He said the last part making a bad impression of my accent.

"I don't know what I regret more if it was saying that or saying in it to you" I answered laughing.

Thankfully, the plane's engine started and it was impossible to hear him. I was already feeling the adrenaline and it was like greeting an old friend. And then the door opened and I looked down, but instead of the usual euphoria, I felt fear, blinding fear. It's not an unusual emotion for a moment like this, but I realized I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. All I could see was me back in a wheelchair again. I was petrified, numbly I heard John calling out my name. I don't know how long it lasted, but I realized we had already landed, I apologized to everyone involved and John got me home. It was the first time I ever felt anything like it, though in retrospect I had avoided my motorbike in the last days. I looked at the sky and wondered what else would be taken from me.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I sat at the buttered bun and waited for her, I would never understand what she saw in this place. How she could come here, do the same things, talk to the same people, serve the same food every single day of her life and not feel even a bit claustrophobic. But she seemed to be at ease here, it was as if she colored this otherwise dull place with her smiles.

Now and then she would give me a quizzical look that would make me realized I had been staring at her for too long again, but I couldn't help it. Deep down I knew she wouldn't remember, I had expected it, really, and if I'm being honest it was a relief to know that she wouldn't remember me at my weakest moments, or how I made her suffer.

She came closer bringing my brownie and coffee.

"Here it is, sorry if I took too long, we usually don't have costumers this early." She said with a smile.

"Sorry" I smiled back "Interesting choice of footwear, you know, you don't dress like someone from around here." I said noticing her emerald green satin pumps.

"Was that a compliment? I'm not sure." She said while serving me "Wait, how should 'someone from around here' dress."

"Fleece." I responded without missing a beat. She looked surprised for a moment and I wondered if she remembered something. Then she narrowed her eyes and smiled

"It seems out town made quite an impression on you" A few other costumers went in, but she didn't rush in to greet them, instead she stood in front of my table, holding her tray.

"Which is weird, considering there's so much to make an impression around here." I said, trying to hold the conversation as much as possible.

"Well, I suppose where you came from it's so much more interesting" Her eyes travelled to the costumers she still had to greet, and I was happy to notice she wanted to hold the conversation as well

"Not really, considering I'm from here" She looked back to me, a bit surprised.

"Well, then, I don't suppose you're moving back to our lovely town, considering your impressions of it"

"Do you believe in destiny…" I pretended to read her nametag"… Louisa? That things are already set in motion and there's a right time for them to happen?" I chuckled "I'm sorry, that question is way too philosophical for this early in the morning."

"I do, actually. Believe in destiny, I mean" She was

"Me too, so to answer your question, no, I'm not moving in. I don't think it's the right time yet"

As if on cue, the door opened and Patrick went in. She excused herself and went to him, not the right time indeed.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 _Louisa_

I walked up the long drive, trying not to think about whether anybody was watching out the window. Walking up a long drive puts you at a disadvantage; it automatically makes you feel inferior. Before I could ring the bell the door opened and I jumped.

A young woman, of about my age, came out of the door with a very elegant ladysuit, as she passed me she gave me a polite smile, then looked me up and down and I instantly regretted my clothing choice, my mother's unbelievably tight 80's suit.

"And thank you so much for coming," a voice said, from inside. "We'll be in touch. Ah." A woman's face appeared, middle-aged but beautiful, under expensive precision-cut hair. She was wearing a trouser suit that I guessed cost more than my dad earned in a month. "You must be Miss Clark."

"Louisa." I shot out a hand, as my mother had impressed upon me to do.

"Right. Yes. Do come in." She withdrew her hand from mine as soon as humanly possible, but I felt her eyes linger upon me, as if she were already assessing me.

"Would you like to come through? We'll talk in the drawing room. My name is Camilla Traynor." She seemed weary, as if she had uttered the same words many times that day already. I followed her through to a huge room.

I had to practically beg Syed, my personal adviser, to set this interview for me, after months jumping from one horrid job to another, I had almost given up any hope of actually finding a job I liked, but then I came across this job, it didn't require experience, had a really good salary. It was almost too perfect to be true.

"So you have come via the Job Center advertisement, is that right? Do sit down." She pulled my résumé and read it while giving me quick glances. "Well, I imagine you know about the job, you'll be a secretary, appoint schedules, organize files, this type of thing. You'll work alone most of the time, will this be a problem?"

"No." _yes._ "I can work really well alone and with other people _" Well, that wasn't at all a cliché_. She wrote something on my resume and I shifted in my seat to try to get a glance at what. That's when I heard the unmistakable sound of stitches ripping. I glanced down to see that the two pieces of material that joined at the side of my right leg had torn apart, sending frayed pieces of silk thread shooting upward in an ungainly fringe.

"Right. And why do you think you should you be hired?" I smiled, I had practiced that answer about a 100 times, but then I made the mistake of looking at her impassive face. God, I wonder if she even knows how to smile.

"I'm…a hardworker and very organized, I will start a typing couse and…"

"Typing course? That still exists?" Immediately I felt my face burn and realized I was fidgeting, so I quickly crossed my legs, which only made the rip grow.

"It's hot in here, isn't it hot in here? Do you mind if I take my jacket off?" Before she could say anything, I wrenched the jacket off in one fluid motion and tied it around my waist, obscuring the split in the skirt. "So hot," I said, smiling at her, "coming in from outside. You know."

I was wishing the chandelier would fall on my head when a man gave a faint knock at the already opened door and came in, it took me a moment to realize I've seen him before, at the buttered bun. He kissed her hair and shook my hand.

"Will Traynor" and looked me expectantly, and I realized he was waiting for me to introduce myself.

"Oh, Louisa Clark" I said feeling stupid for thinking he would remember me too.

"It's ok, mom, I will take over from here" He said while putting a hand at her shoulder and sitting down. She gave him a smile so sweet and loving that I wondered if she had been replaced by her good twin while I wasn't looking. But then she turned to me with her poker face on again, said "It was nice to meet you, Ms. Clark" and went out.

Will Traynor had a casual confidence that was a bit intimidating at first, but he had a nice smile, friendly, it made me relax instantly, maybe they were playing good cop/bad cop with me.

"So, did my mom explain to you, what the job entails?"

"Yes"

"Did she tell you'll work alone most of the time or with me?" I nodded "It's very different from the atmosphere at the buttered bun, you don't mind?"

I noticed he hadn't read my résumé and smiled, I don't know why I cared so much about him remembering me, but it just made me glad that he did.

"Believe me, when you've done shifts at a chicken processing factory, working in Guantánamo Bay for six months looks attractive."

He laughed "Well, I work for a finance company in London, but I'm currently taking a sabbatical, or as close from a sabbatical as I'll ever get, I'm still working, but only when no one else can solve the problem. I need someone who can talk to clients, assess the situation, organize my schedule. " I must have looked unsure " Don't worry, I know you don't have experience, my former secretary will come here to teach you, she recently got a promotion so she can only stay here for a couple of days, but I'm sure you will learn everything"

"Wait, does this means I'm hired?" He smiled at me

"Yes, Ms. Clark, you're hired" I was practically jumping out of joy.

"Thank you, Mr. Traynor, Thank you so much" He made a weird face.

"Please call me Will, Mr. Traynor makes me feel like my father" He got up and so did I, but then I realized he was looking at my skirt, and I remembered I'd ripped it and felt my face burn again.

"You can wear your normal clothes, no need to be formal when it's just going to be us here." Again, I wished the chandelier would fall on my head.

"You may regret saying that once you see my normal clothes"

"I'll look forward to, when can you start?"

"Whenever you want me to, even tomorrow" I was eager to start working again.

"Perfect, I'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Clark"


	7. Chapter 7

I got out of the Traynor's house in a hurry, my mom and Patrick had both texted me, he saying he was already at my house and my mom saying dinner was ready. And my family wasn't exactly the kind who'd wait for me to start the meal. But that wasn't why I was running down my street, barely noticing the rip in my skirt, I was still really excited about the job and I couldn't wait to tell everyone, truth is the whole family deserved some good news.

I had decided to keep them in suspense for a while, but as soon as I opened the door, my mom looked at me and said:

"You got the job" I've always had an awful poker face.

Soon after, I was describing everything, the Traynors, the house, the job.

"Poor bloke, not only does he have to work on his vacation, but on top of that, he has to work with Lou" my dad said, after I finished.

"It's not really a vacation, it's a sabbatical, he's taking the whole year off" Treena explained to my dad, leaving him speechless for a moment with his mouth hanged open, giving us a full view of the mashed potatoes still inside his mouth.

"Bernard" my mother scolded.

"They take vacations for a year? Rich people, it's like a completely different species" he said still dumbfounded.

"Not exactly a vacation, obviously" I said pointing at my awful interview suit.

"What your dad meant to say is, we are happy for you" She told me with smile.

I turned to Patrick to ask him what he thought about my new job, but he and dad already had their eyes fixated in the television, watching football.

...

The next morning the excitement died down a bit and gave its place to my anxiety, I stood at the Traynor's house looking so out of place, I half-expected someone to come and throw me out. A couple of minutes later, a pretty woman, a few years older than me, met me in the living room. I followed her to the annex that was part office/part living room. It was just as elegant and beautiful as the rest of the house, but everything looked new and shiny, like it was recently decorated.

"You must be Lou, I'm Christine, Will's former secretary" She said offering her hand.

Soon after she was already going through everything I needed to do, spreadsheets, schedules, phone calls, e-mails.

"Well, that's it. That's the basics of what you need to know". She said about 3 hours later. I must have looked as lost as I felt, because she gave me a smile, "you'll catch on soon enough, for now we could practice a bit."

I sat down at the computer and accidently pressed delete and saw the whole spreadsheet vanish before my eyes, I gave Christine a panicked look and she said "It's ok" while pressing ctrl+z.

I kicked myself for not paying attention to any of my informatics classes in high school. I spent the next hour training with her, when It was over I felt completely drained.

"I'm going back to London today, but if you have any doubts, no matter how small, you can call me" She pressed my shoulder "you'll be fine, Will's a great boss".

I half-expected someone to be outside of the annex door with my designation letter ready, I even sprinted from the annex to the gate. The day had been awful, Christine seemed really sweet, but I already felt so lost on my very first day and I really needed this job, even though my family joked about it yesterday, they needed me to keep this job either. The bright side was that Will wasn't there to see me fail in every single task of the day. I closed the gate giving a sigh of relief because the day was over. Turned around and found myself facing Will and Mrs. Traynor.

Mrs. Traynor gave him a kiss in his cheek, told him she would see him later and gave me a nod of recognition, without even looking directly at me, she looked so tired, that i doubt she would remember ever seeing me. I turned to Will, who was looking at me with an amused face. Hopefully he didn't see me running.

"Were you running away, Ms. Clark?" _Goddamnit,_ I contemplated hanging myself at the nearest tree, without giving me time to answer, he continued "Would you mind if we talked for a bit before you go? I want to know how your first day went."

"Sure"

On the way over he received a text from Christine and I almost fell down trying to read it. He was still reading it, when we got to the annex, so i got nervous and started babbling even before sitting down, "So before anything, I would like to say that even though i don't know anything about this job, I really need it and if you don't fire me, I will learn as fast as possible. Really, I will be here from dawn to midnight if i have to and..." He was quizzically looking at me, so i stopped talking.

He showed me his phone's screen "Christine said you went well" He laughed and i felt my face turn red "Did you really think i would fire you on your first day? I mean, doubts on your first day, who would've thought?"

"Huh, Well, next time i will let you speak first" I said giving him an embarassed smile.

"I have a few things for you, actually, i was supposed to have given you earlier." He said while getting up and entering a room, I heard him looking through his stuff, moving things around and I paced a little in the room. I hadn't really stop to notice before. It was the coziest i had ever seen, not that i spent a lot of time in offices, but this one was beautifully decorated, it had a white and gray color scheme, a fireplace with a few pictures on top, a little couch and chair with what looked like the fluffiest blanket on top and then a simple black table and chair with the laptop i was using before on top and a printer at the side. It also had a fluffy rug. The room made you want to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate. I got closer to the fireplace and started looking at the photos, there was Will and his family, then he skydiving, skiing, traveling, i got a bit too absorbed in his photos and didn't hear him coming, when I turned, I found him looking at me, for a second none of us spoke.

"You certainly lead a very active life" I said pointing at the pictures. It made complete sense with the few i knew about him already, it was like he never stood still, he would always get up mid-sentence, in the few moments we spent together, he only actually sat down for more than 5 minuted in the day we met and even then, he was fidgeting, tapping his fingers, like he always had to be moving.

"Not anymore" He looked said looking a bit sad, he shook his head as if trying to clear it and then gave me a little bag. "I think this is all you're going to need at first, if you need anything else, you can just ask me".

There was a very light knock at the door and Christine came in, she gave me a smile and handed Will a paper, that he took and read it. "I thought you were gone already. I forgot to ask you, if you wanted to do something after work with us. So we can actually meet, you know, in a more casual setting. But only if you want to." She said still smiling. I noticed she was a bit hyper too, they made a good pair.

"Sure, i'd love to"

Somehow I ended up with the task of planning where we would go, since I was the one who actually lived here and had any actual appreciation for the city, sadly they did not know i was the worst person to do it, so i spent the whole walk home thinking about it. After i got on the bus, i remembered the bag Will gave me and opened to see what it was, as expected it was some offfice supplies, notebook, pens... the usual. Except it looked like a rainbow exploded inside the bag, everything was bright and colorful. Suddenly i felt any anxiety i had left dissipate, for the first time in a long while, i felt excited to see what would come next, it felt like not only i started a new chapter in my life, but a completely different book.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I hurried inside the pub, my shoes were filled with water and were squelching at every step, I gave myself a second to mourn my once beautiful clothes and bumped my way inside. Will was already sitting at a table and waved at me, as I got closer I noticed he was completely dry, not a single hair out of place.

"Where's Christine?" I said, noticing an empty chair.

"She's been 5 minutes away for the last 20 minutes. My guess is she's still at her hotel." he said without any annoyance "I ordered the crunchy julienne potatoes with spicy tomato sauce at the side" He showed me the menu.

"so… french fries, right?" I snorted and looked around the pub, it had a certain charm to it, although I would feel generous towards any dry and warm place right now, it had a high ceiling and some lights hanging overhead, some wood boxes piled in the corners, it was bit too trendy for me, but I found myself enjoying the atmosphere.

"So, you must work for a really good company, if they let you take 6 months vacations" I said, mainly to fill the silence.

"They better let me, I spent nearly a decade working there and never got to take proper vacations." He said, while tapping on the table.

"Never?" I said remembering all the travel photos.

"Well, only very short ones and even then I spent most of the time on the phone talking about work."

"I see, well, you've really turned your life around." I said, full of sarcasm. He laughed at me.

"Well, Ms clark, forgive me if the painstaking changes I've made in my life weren't enough to impress you." I continued to not look very impressed "All right, think of me as high-functioning workaholic"

"What about you?" He turned to me, interest suddenly sparking into his face.

"Well, I'm not in vacation" I said subtly trying to change the subject.

"You know what I mean, what is it you want most in your life? Or at least what do you want to change?" I glanced at the door, hoping I would find Christine there, no such luck.

"Is this still part of my interview?"

"No, I want to know more about you, what are you expectations? Dream career? Do you want to get married? Travel the world?"

"I don't know. I've never really thought about it" I looked at him expecting to find him disappointed, but instead he looked like he knew exactly what I was going to say. I had a sudden urge to kick him."

"hmm, so what DO you do?

"Why do you care?" I said, narrowing my eyes.

"I don't know, I guess I'm curious why someone so young would still be in this godforsaken town"

"Why are YOU?"

I hated that he seemed to have made a complete analysis on me in 5 minutes of conversation, that stuck-up, know-it-a…

"OK, How late am I?" Christine said, looking hassled

I almost kissed Christine when I saw her and I immediately put a smile on my face.

"You're fashionably late" I said

The rest of the night was easier, Christine monopolized the conversation, as if sensing the tension, which was fine by me. Occasionally I would steal some glances at Will. I didn't know why I was so hot and bothered, but only an idiot would fight with her boss on her first day, so I did my best to keep my cool. The problem is that I simply couldn't understand Will.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When I got home, I found Patrick in my living room.

"Hey, what are you doing here so late?" I said closing the door and moving closer to him to give him a kiss.

He backed away "Michael said he saw you and some guy at a pub tonight"

"It wasn't me and some guy, it was me, my boss and a coworker. I told you about it."

I knew the exact moment he remembered, because his cheeks started to redden.

"I'm sorry, Lou. But what was I supposed to think?"

"You could think about listening to me every once in a while, you could think that we've known each other for years and you know I'm not like that, you could think of supporting me, since you know how hard it was to find a job"

"I'm sorry, Lou. I haven't been the best boyfriend lately with the extreme Viking coming up, I guess I felt guilty. I would completely deserve if you walked out on me to live with some rich guy in a mansion"

"You would"

He moved closer and began kissing my neck.

"This isn't going to work"

He kissed lower.

"I mean it"

It worked.

Patrick slept before I did, I looked at him and couldn't help thinking if he would ever apologize to me if he wasn't jealous. I honestly didn't get mad because of what he thought I was doing, if the roles were reversed I wouldn't be too happy either. But we have been neglecting each other for months now, him because of the triathlon and me because of my worry about my job, or lack of it, and my family's finance situation. It felt like for the first time in a long time we stopped to really look at each other, and it was because Patrick felt a sudden possessiveness, it just felt like a missed opportunity.

"Stop whining" I whispered to myself.

I had a new job, I was making a lot more money than I expected, I was being able to help my family, there was nothing to complain. _Missing, there's something missing._

I laid my head in Patrick's chest and drifted to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Patrick was already gone by the time I woke, it was such a beautiful day, it made me instantly happier. I put on what I thought was a killer combination, a purple floral skirt and a baby blue top, even Treena liked it. I felt like I could take on the world.

I passed on a bakery on the way over and bought some donuts, my plan was to beat Will's arrogance with kindness. When I got there Christine was holding a briefcase, talking to Will. I went to put. Will touched his hair, fixed his shirt, then tapped his foot, he was always moving.

"Good morning" Will said, noticing me.

"Are these donuts?" Christine asked, eyes fixated on the box. "I might be in love with you"

"Morning" I opened the box. There's no better way to make friends than with food, especially with sweet, I learned that in kindergarten.

Will took one and turned to me "Do you have a license? I promised Christine I would take her to the bus station, but something came up."

"Would you mind?" Christine asked me.

"I don't have a car" Will gave me his car keys and we were off before I could even finish my donut.

"Thank you so much for taking me" Christine said, closing the car door.

"It's fine, I really don't mind"

We both jumped as I turned on the engine and a song I didn't recognized started blasting through the speaker.

"He has an appalling taste in music" She said shaking her head.

I smiled "How long have you two worked together?"

"Almost three years" She turned to me "he can be a handful, but you get used to"

"Yeah, I noticed."

She snorted "How did you get along last night?"

I started answering and paused, it wasn't very smart to talk about your boss with his coworkers, especially one who seemed so fond of him, at worst it was a bit anti-ethical. I was still deciding what to say when Christine said.

"He's here because of this parents' divorce, he's helping his mother, it was hard for her." I gave her a puzzled look and she went on "I heard you two, last night" She said a bit apologetic.

I nodded "What about his father?"

"His father… his father has someone to take care of him" She gave me a pointed look.

"That's nice of him. Of Will, I mean" I said parking the car and she nodded.

"I left my phone and e-mail on your table, if you have any doubt, call me."

I thanked her and she winked at me, while getting out of the car.

There was no one at the annex when I went back, so I started reviewing a few things Christine had taught me the previous day, without the fear of messing everything up in front of her, everything was a lot easier. I was putting the car keys, where Will got them before, when he went in with a cup of coffee.

"Do you like cappuccino?"

"I worked in a coffee shop, I learned to like everything," I said taking it "I put your keys in the drawer."

"Thanks"

"So is this a peace offering?"

He lifted an eyebrow "Do you need a peace offering?"

I gave him a pointed look

"It was more a welcoming gift" he turned and looked at me "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have tried to pry into your life"

"It's fine" And it was, he continued looking at me, as if to check if it was really fine and I smiled to him. "It's fine" I said again.

I sat in front of the computer and after thinking for a bit I said to him "I like clothes. If I could work with anything, I would like to work with clothes, I think"

He smiled at me and I found myself admiring it. It seemed like Will poured himself in every single thing he did, and his smile showed exactly that, it was a big smile, it crinkled his eyes and it was impossible not to smile back.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Treena knocked on my door early in the morning, as I was dressing to go to work.

"Hey, you don't use this anymore, right?" She said holding a cute floral button-up shirt.

"Where did you find it?" I said while zipping my skirt.

"The washing machine" She said giving me an annoyed look.

"Hmm, if it was dirty, it means I used it, huh?" she rolled her eyes, that was Treena all over. She felt entitled. Even though Thomas had come along, she had never quite lost that sense of being the baby of the family—the deep-rooted feeling that the whole world actually did revolve around her. When we were little and she threw a huge tantrum because she wanted something of mine, Mum would plead with me to "just let her have it," if only for some peace in the house. Nearly twenty years later, nothing had really changed. We had to babysit Thomas so that Treena could still go out, feed him so that Treena didn't have to worry, buy her extra-nice presents at birthdays and Christmas 'because Thomas means she often goes without'.

"You know, Thomas has more maturity in his little finger than you do, you are the biggest child I've ever met." She said rolling her eyes at me.

I grabbed the shirt from her hands and threw it at my bed, I actually felt my face getting warm because of how mad I got. I can't believe she had the audacity of coming to my room and asking me for anything. She told me weeks ago she decided to go back to college and I tried my best to help her sort everything. After it was certain she and Thomas would really move, I decided to ask to move to her room. My room was almost half of her room, and her room wasn't that big to begin with. I figured she wouldn't mind, since she wasn't going to be using anyway. But of course she threw a fit over it and now had the nerve to call ME immature.

"Stay away from my stuff" I said and closed the door at her face, possibly proving her point of me being immature, but I was beyond caring.

I decided to dress the shirt out of spite and went to work fuming, Treena rolled her eyes at me again, when she saw me heading out wearing the shirt. We'd said some pretty heavy things to each other the other night, I meant to apologize today and ended up slamming the door in her face. I don't know what got such a strong reaction from me, maybe there was a tiny part of that was a bit jealous? It was all Will's fault, I was very much ok with my life until he started making me doubt everything, as if he was Morpheus offering me a red pill.

I got into the blissfully silent annex, there wasn't anyone there, Will went to London last evening and all I had to do was pay some of his bills online and send his expenses to the office in London. There wasn't a lot of work as his secretary, it was his vacation after all, so I was working as his personnel assistant as well. I didn't mind, I would hate to come to work and sit on my ass all day.

I made some coffee and focused solely on work. I made a few phone calls and started paying the bills. There were a few mailed to the Traynor & Basinger corp., and I kicked myself for not making the connection. Will got there as I was paying the last one.

"Hey" He said, making me jump, I wasn't expecting him today, at least not so early.

"Shouldn't you be in London?"

"The reports _of a emergency were_ greatly exaggerated" he threw himself at the couch "shouldn't you be lunching?"

"I'm just finishing paying the bills" I turned to him "you…own Traynor & Basinger corp.?"

"My family does"

"That's where my dad works"

"Really?" He got up and went to the small kitchen "Any complaints?"

"Well, he wouldn't mind getting a raise." I answered and laughed.

He smiled

"Is that your lunch?" and simply opened the Tupperware.

"What are you doing?" I said practically running to the kitchen.

"It's just salad" He said with disgust, as if he found cockroaches instead of food in it.

"Well, if you have to know, I'm trying to lose weight"

"Don't be silly, you're beautiful" He said matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, I looked away, so he couldn't see my face getting warm. "So, if I were to make some spaghetti carbonara, you wouldn't want a single bite, huh?"

"It depends, are you a good cooker?"

He was grabbing the spaghetti, stopped and looked at me "Lou, let's be honest, am I bad at anything?" and gave me a small smile. He was so insufferable.

"Fine, I guess if it's that good." I grabbed a bottle and showed him "what's that?"

"Cachaça, it's a brazillian drink"

"People actually drink that?" It had a huge scorpion amidst the liquid.

"The alcohol cancels out the poison"

"Did you drink it?"

"Sadly, I did. I found out the worst way, that though it cuts off the poison, the scorpion is still rotting inside of it"

"Well, you have no place judging anyone's salad" I said putting the back in the shelf.

He laughed "Me and my dad used to bring each other theses local drinks from wherever we went to" He told me about hhe and his father's travels. I didn't think him and his dad got along, giving what Christine told me about him, but Will seemed to miss him.

When the pasta was done I made a whole show of tasting it, but, unfortunately, it was amazing.

"Will you tell me what got you so mad?" He said between bites.

"How do you know?" I had completely forgotten my fight with Treena.

"Are you kidding me? I thought you were about to punch the screen" he smiled "do you want to talk?"

And I did, I told him about how Treena got pregnant very young and couldn't go to college and that she decided to go now and about how brave I thought she was. And then told him about our fight and he silently listened to everything. I talked so much, I actually was out of breath by the end of it.

"I just don't understand why she still wants the damn room"

"Well, bear in mind that I don't know Treena, but let me tell you a story a friend told me a couple of years ago." He casually drank his juice. "ok, so, there once was a man, an ordinary man, and one day, while he slept, a snake got inside of him, lived inside his stomach and started to control the man's will. The man lost his freedom, he was more a shell than a man, a puppet for the snakes' desires. And so he lived like this many years until one day, he woke up and found out that the snake was gone. But the man now free, continued to have no desires or feelings if his own, he didn't know how to act on his own, or even feel, for the snake had left but the poisoned continued." He looked at me expectantly.

I waited a whole minute for the story's conclusion "Is that it?" he solemnly nodded.

"Wow, Will. If you don't have an advice, you can just say it"

"What? It was very insightful."

"No, it wasn't. You just like to hear yourself talk" I said laughing.

"Well, I'm very self-centered" He said and I laughed even more.

On my way home, I stopped to actually think about the story and it kind of started making sense. I mean, we get so hung up on our fears and traumas, that even after the turmoil ends, we simply can't go on. I remembered Will's pictures, maybe he was talking about himself too, in a way. But maybe Treena was scared too, maybe she had a snake of her own and was just now finally managing to overpower it, but still wanted a safe net. That wasn't so hard to understand, especially for me.


End file.
